SPL 2Control

Reviews | SPL 2Control
98
S
PL already make a stereo
monitor controller, the
excellent and popular 2381.
Just looking at the 2Control,
you might be tempted to see it as a
cut-down version of its bigger brother.
In fact, it’s designed for a different
purpose. Where the 2381 is meant for
a studio environment, the 2Control is
squarely aimed at the DAW user who
needs to switch regularly between
headphones and speakers, and who
normally only has to deal with one
musician at a time.
Ins and outs
So what do you get? Starting at the
back of the unit, there’s a mains
socket, four XLR inputs, fi ve XLR
outputs and a couple of switches. The
four XLR ins give you two stereo
inputs, input one operating at +4 and
input 2 being switchable between +4
and -10. This means that if you have a
pro-level interface and a bit of
domestic-level kit such as an iPod or
CD player, you can get the levels pretty
much matched without having to
remember to turn the volume knob up
and down all the time.
The fi ve XLR outs work as follows.
There are two stereo speaker outs and
the fi fth XLR gives a full-range mono
output that you could use to feed a
mono speaker set-up to check mono
compatibility, or send to a sub-woofer.
Up front
Moving on to the front panel, you fi nd
eight switches and four rotary controls.
Starting on the left, there are two
switches for the sources that can be
selected individually or together –
really useful if you want to check a part
from the demo and play along.
Next comes a mono switch and a
dim control. The last three on the left
are the speaker selector switches. As
with the source buttons, these either
work individually or together. If you’ve
used the mono output three to send to
a sub-woofer, this means that you can
switch it in and out on either of your
stereo speaker sets. A very useful
feature, particularly if, like me, you
only want to be able to hear the sub
when you have the music cranked up
while playing.
In the middle of the front panel is
the large volume control and to the
right of that are three other controls.
The fi rst of these is labelled crossfeed,
which is SPL’s innovative circuit that
emulates the effect of listening to a
stereo fi eld on loudspeakers in
headphones. For those of you who
regularly monitor on headphones, this
is a great feature as it enables you to
more accurately judge stereo imaging
and ambience levels by feeding a
specially time-delayed amount of the
left channel signal to the right and
vice-versa – just like your ears hear
when listening to speakers. I fi nd this
great for playing too, because it just
feels so much more natural. The last
two knobs on the 2Control deal with
level adjustment for the two
headphone outs.
Testing the 2Control against my
2381, which I in turn selected after a
four-unit blind test, I was highly
impressed with the sonic quality. I
can’t really tell the difference between
the two units. With the addition of the
excellent crossfeed circuit, two
level-controlled headphone outs and
the switchable sub-woofer out, I can
see this unit fi nding a home in many
set-ups where monitoring needs require
not just a simple input set-up, but also
a fl exible approach to using speakers
and headphones, without the fuss of
attaching extra amplifi ers.
WHAT IS IT?
A stereo monitor
controller for up to 3 sets
of speakers and 2 pairs
of headphones
CONTACT
Who: The Audio Pros
Tel: [phone]
Web: audiopros.eu
HIGHLIGHTS
1 Excellent sonic quality
2 Switchable sub-woofer
control
3 Crossfeed control
SPECS
Frequency range: 10Hz to
200kHz, -3db
THD: 0.002% @ 1kHz, 0dBu
input level, unity gain
Signal to noise: -96dB /
Headphones –85dB
Dynamic range: 116dB
Inputs: IEC Mains
switchable 230V 50Hz,
120V 60Hz: 4 Balanced
XLR’s,2 stereo input sources
Outputs: Rear panel: 5
balanced XLRs
Front panel, 2 headphone
outputs: stereo 1/4-inch
Dimensions
220 x 245 x 95mm
Weight:
2.1kg
SPL 2Control | £477
SPL provide a new and simple approach to managing
your different stereo monitoring needs. Stuart Bruce
puts it to the test…
VERDICT
BUILD
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VALUE
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EASE OF USE
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VERSATILITY
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RESULTS
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A sensibly priced and great-
sounding solution to most users
stereo monitoring needs.
FMU220.rev_spl 98 14/10/09 7:12:47 am